Football Association of Malawi (Fam) has suspended its executive committee member Daudi Mtanthiko on allegations of sexual abuse.
Fam President Fleetwood Haiya confirmed that Mtanthiko had been suspended to pave the way for investigations into allegations of sex abuse.
“The Emergency Committee met and agreed to suspend him so [that] the investigations are conducted in a professional manner. We are taking the matter seriously and we want to get to the bottom of it,” Haiya said.
Furthermore, Haiya said the suspension also coincided with Mtanthiko’s letter, as he asked to be excused from Fam work temporarily.
“He had requested to step aside from Fam assignments but we went ahead to suspend him while the investigations are ongoing,” he said.
The development came after Fam earlier on issued a statement in reaction to reports by one of the local online publications, Malawi Voice, that Mtanthiko had travelled to Accra, Ghana, as leader of delegation for the Malawi Schools Girls Team, which is taking part in the 2025 African Schools Championship.
In a statement released Sunday, Mtanthiko was not part of the team’s delegation in Ghana.
“Fam wishes to clarify that Mr. Mtanthiko is currently under suspension pending investigations into allegations levelled against him. As such, he is not part of the delegation in Ghana,” the statement reads.
Mtanthiko was not readily available for his comment yesterday.
On Tuesday last week, Fam announced, through a statement, that it had opened investigations into alleged sexual misconduct.
“Fam has, therefore, instituted a formal inquiry to investigate and make findings on the matter. This process will be undertaken pursuant to applicable rules and policies that ensure fairness and justice for all parties involved,” the statement read.
It is alleged that an incident happened during the team’s recent trip to Zambia in February.
While in Zambia, it is alleged that one Fam official made sexual advances towards two female members of the team’s technical panel members.
The Scorchers lost 3-0 to South Africa in the first match before suffering a 2-1 defeat in the second match.
Prior to the trip to South Africa, the Scorchers played two friendly matches against Zambia in Lusaka in February.
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